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HELP! DWC Hydroponics water PH drops over time

Right, today's update.

I came home and found pH to be 5.5 exactly.
I decided to change all the water.

as suggested earlier i let the water wait for 5 - 15 mins before measuring pH after mixing nutes, and added just enough pH down to bring it to 6.5.

Reason for pHing to 6.5 is that I keep noticing that it drops over the course of a few days (4 - 6) to below 5.5.

Tap water (from a private well) is 7.5 (waited 15 mins for it to settle).

15L water + 62ml Micro brought down to 6.4 with 2ml pH down.
15L water + 31ml Gro brought down to 6.3 with 2ml pH down.
15L water + 92ml Bloom gives 6.5.

Nute schedule is for flowering stage as per nutrient schedule for bubbleponics found on this site.

After adding all to system and allowing to rest for 15 mins, pH stable at 6.5 in all 4 buckets & resevoir.

Water recirculation pump capacity = 600L/hr

Looked for EC meter, thing here costs €90.
Got a small fan now mounted in the top of the growtent for a gentle breeze at plant level.

Will keep updates going as I measure.

Noticed one of my plats had something looking like banana's.... Could she be herming?
Pic attached.

Thanks for your time :)
 

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Everything else sounds great, but damn... keep looking for a cheaper EC meter!
I bought a water filter that came with a TDS meter for free (Zero Water). A TDS meter can be used so maybe look in other places. People measure TDS for drinking water. Should have them at kitchen/bath stores.
 
@IslandColas,

I don't spreay at all for bugs. Growtent is free of all insects.
The only thing that I did see once was a long-leg spider sitting in the corner, havnt seen it recently.
 
Update for today, i checked pH at midday - measured 7.3

Yesterday evening after complete water change, pH was 6.5

What I'd previously do was add pH down to the main res to bring it back down to 6.5 from 7.3 now, but i'm not sure if doing that is a good idea.
(used to add around 8 - 11 ml in total of pH down to the system)

Reasoning: adding pH down now to bring the system to 6.5 (when it settles) will result in pH dropping down to the 5.5 region in a couple of days...

I'm wondering...
I havnt been adding extra water to the res between water changes - difficult to see water level in the level checker as it is the growtent....
As the plants drink up the water, they wouldn't be taking up any of the extra H ions from the pH down.... ?

if thats so, less water, same amount of pH down... pH down concentration in system would go up, lowering pH more...

so solution would be: adding water when pH goes below 5.8 to dilute pH down in the system so overall pH goes up again?
 
You’re overthinking. Use your ph up and down. You’re not over using for the size of your res. Top off your res with 6.0 ph filtered water throughout your week. You don’t want salt buildup as well as nutrient concentration due to evaporation/absorption. Monitor ph twice a day, and only test your adjustments once the system has fully cycled the water through it. I promise EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OKAY:) and please please please try to hold a 6.0 ph. Hydro is different than soil. You don’t want to leave your water alkaline just in preparation for a lowering in ph. You should instead be constantly monitoring and holding that ph at 6.0.
 
I agree with IslandColas

I will add, that a rising pH is often a sign of bacterial infestation. This is not likely since you just did a complete water change, but it is something to be aware of.
 
Campesino

possible, the bacteria...

when i changed water 3 weeks ago i cleaned out all buckets with warm Fairy liquid soap & a scrub sponge every where i could get the sponge to reach.
rinced all buckets with clean water before putting everything back in the tent with a fresh batch of water.

have to say, the interconnecting hoses i didnt clean, same for hard-to-reach areas around the bottom of the buckets & central res.

been looking for Hydraguard here in ireland but no one's heard of it.

Current pH = 6.1
 
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Campesino, nothing besides the GH Flora Trio, and Essentials pH down.

I do think i need to get some Cal-Mag supplement for the small brown spots that are starting to appear on most leaves now...
 
You need to get 29% H2O2 and add 2.5ml/gal to the Res! This will kill bacteria and add oxygen to the water. I also recommend using SM-90 in the Res, also 2.5ml/gallon. This will also help fight bacteria and offers a number of other benefits. I suspect you might have trouble getting SM-90 if you can't get hydroguard, but you should be able to find 29% H2O2
 
Loving the new ph! You doing great brotha just keep it up. I can tell you spend a lot of time thinking about your crop. That will pay off in the end. Lots of meticulous growers produce some fire crip.
 
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